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Kevin Pietersen may give up his Rs 2 crore contract with Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad to play County Cricket in order to pave a way back to the England national side. Pietersen, 34, had his contract rescinded by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) early in 2014 and his return to the national side looked impossible until recently. Soon-to-be ECB Chairman, Colin Graves, however, recently admitted that a KP return might be possible after all, giving the 34-year-old fresh hope.
Pietersen might turn up for his former county Surrey although as many as six other counties expressed interest in signing him up.
Earlier this month, Graves had conceded that KP has to play regularly and play well in County if he wants to fashion an England return.
"The first thing he has to do if he wants to get back is start playing county cricket. If he does that and then comes out and scores a lot of runs they can't ignore him I would have thought, but that is up to him. The selectors and the coaches are not going to pick him if he's not playing. It's as simple as that. I'll leave it at that," Graves, who will take over from Giles Clarke in May, said.
Pietersen's England career was brought to an end and his contract was terminated by ECB after England's humiliating 5-0 whitewash in the 2013-14 Ashes series Down Under. Pietersen then further incensed England's bosses and his former teammates by claiming that there was a 'bullying culture' prevalent in the national team. He made these comments in his autobiography titled 'KP - The Autobiography'.
Kevin Pietersen, who attracted an eye-catching Rs nine-crore bid for the 2014 IPL, was bought for his base price of Rs 2 by when Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was to partner Eoin Morgan at Sunrisers, who picked up the current England captain for just Rs 1.5 crore.
England's play their first Test after the ICC World Cup against New Zealand at Lord's late in May. The County season starts on April 12.
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